Satonda Island

Satonda is an island in West Nusa Tenggara province of Indonesia. It is off the north coast of Sumbawa island. The Island is located in Dompu Regency, 3 km from Sanggar Strait in the Flores Sea and is administratively part of the Nangamiro Village area of Pekat District.[1] Satonda island was formed from the eruption of Mount Satonda thousands of years ago. Satonda volcano is said to be older than Mount Tambora, which is about 30 kilometers from the island.[2] Satonda island has a vast natural coral reefs in the surrounding waters and was designated a Marine Nature Park (TWAL) in 1999 by the Ministry of Forestry of Indonesia. The island is proposed to be part of Moyo Satonda National Park along with neighbouring Moyo Island.[3]

Satonda lake
Satonda Island
View of Satonda island
Satonda Island is located in Indonesia
Satonda Island
Satonda Island
Location of West Nusa Tenggara in Indonesia
Geography
LocationSouth East Asia
Coordinates8°06′41″S 117°44′46″E
ArchipelagoLesser Sunda Islands
Administration
ProvinceWest Nusa Tenggara
RegencyDompu
DistrictPekat
VillageNangamiro
Demographics
Ethnic groupsSumbawa people

The island draws attention by scientists and researchers from both within and outside the country, as the island is related with the phenomenal eruption of Mount Tambora which shook the world on 15 April 1815. The eruption of Mount Tambora rocked several parts of the world, spewing dust and polluting the Earth’s atmosphere for many years, even tearing the thin ozone layer. Although estimates vary, the death toll was at least 71,000 people, of which 11,000–12,000 were killed directly by the eruption.[4] Its effects also resulted in climate change which led to eight weeks of nonstop rain in the UK, and has been cited as a reason for the severity of the 1816–19 typhus epidemic in southeast Europe and the eastern Mediterranean that killed about 65,000 people.[5]

There is a lake in the middle of the island, which has an area of 77 hectares, occupying two nested craters 39 and 69 meter deep as determined by echosounding.[6] Research by two European scientists named Stephan Kempe and Josef Kazmierczak during 1984, 1989, 1993 and 1996[7] found the water of Satonda Lake as salty with alkaline levels much higher than regular sea water. This causes a high supersaturation of calcium carbonate minerals and the formation of microbialitic stromatolites along the fringes of the lake.[8] They jointly concluded that Satonda basin was formed of craters aged more than ten thousand years.

References
  1. "Taman Wisata Alam Pulau Satonda, Pekat – Kabupaten Dompu". Ministry of Environment and Forestry (Indonesia). 4 Nov 2015. Retrieved 14 July 2018.
  2. "Danau Air Asin di Pulau Satonda, Luar Biasa Indahnya..." Kompas. Retrieved 11 July 2018.
  3. "Moyo, Satonda Islands proposed as national park". The Jakarta Post. Retrieved 11 July 2018.
  4. Degens, E.T.; Buch, B. (1989). "Sedimentological events in Saleh Bay, off Mount Tambora". Netherlands Journal of Sea Research. 24 (4): 399–404. doi:10.1016/0077-7579(89)90117-8.
  5. Oppenheimer, Clive (2003). "Climatic, environmental and human consequences of the largest known historic eruption: Tambora volcano (Indonesia) 1815". Progress in Physical Geography. 27 (2): 230–259. doi:10.1191/0309133303pp379ra.
  6. Kempe, S.; Kazmierczak, J. (1990). "Chemistry and stromatolites of the sea-linked Satonda Crater Lake, Indonesia: A recent model for the Precambrian sea?". Chemical Geology. 81 (4): 299–310.
  7. Kazmierczak, J.; Kempe, S. (2004). "Microbialite formation in seawater of increased alkalinity, Satonda Crater Lake, Indonesia - Discussion of Arp et al. (2003), January issue". Journal of Sedimentary Research. 74 (2): 314–317. doi:10.1306/061303740314.
  8. Kempe, S.; Kazmierczak, J. (1993). "Satonda Crater Lake, Indonesia: Hydrogeochemistry and biocarbonates". Facies. 28: 1–32. doi:10.1007/BF02539726.
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